


In Plain Sight

by colorofmymind



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men: First Class (2011) RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sick Character, Sickfic, slight angst if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 23:11:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9350390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colorofmymind/pseuds/colorofmymind
Summary: Erik normally does not let others care for him when weak. Charles is the exception. Set pre-Cuba.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dayun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dayun/gifts).



> This is a gift work for Dayun who is a lovely mutual of mine. Unfortunately, this is a bit late for her birthday, but happy belated birthday present, Claus!

Charles woke with an unpleasant start, his frame chilled with a sudden sense that all heat had left the bedroom. Once ensconced in comfortable sheets and quilts at the beginning of the night, he found that the bedsheet presently only covered his left leg. The cold clamminess of his hands and feet reminded him of the bitter days spent on the Russia mission, and it was at times like these that he was eternally grateful for his flannel pajamas. Turning over onto his left side, Charles could now identify the culprit behind the overnight blanket theft.

He barely discerned Erik’s form in the cushy cocoon the man had so obviously constructed for himself in the night. Although they were admittedly new bedfellows, and Charles had certainly noticed his friend’s apparent fondness for turtlenecks, he never would have anticipated Erik being a blanket hoarder of all things.

Nor was it typical for Erik to deviate from his morning schedule, which Charles had charted in his head as valuable information. At the ungodly hour of five in the morning Erik would rise, press an impassioned kiss to Charles’ temple which was blearily received, and start his morning workout on the estate grounds. Checking the wristwatch laid out on the bedside table, Charles realized, not unhappily, that Erik had seemingly well-abandoned the routine today and for that reason alone Charles could not continue to remain the least bit upset.   

Erik did not show any signs of rousing soon, so Charles thought it prudent to make the two of them breakfast for the day. Judging by the time, the children would be up within the next two hours, and they would both need to at least appear ready for the day and not give any indication of the state of their secretly shared room.  

Just as Charles started on the coffee, Erik’s preferred drink of choice, his skin broke out in goosebumps, and he was colder than he had been earlier in the morning. Running his hands up and down his upper arms, he in fact found no goosebumps and yet still felt the unwanted sensation. With the coffee brewed, Charles began scrambling the eggs in the skillet only for a feverish warmth to overtake his senses, a dizzying heat flooding to his cheeks and a dull but persistent buzzing playing a monotone tune in his head. He took several steps back from the stove, foolishly believing for a moment that the gas burner was contributing to this unwelcome assault.

But the unusual symptoms nagged on, and more out of instinct than trained control Charles threw up his mental shields to isolate himself from all other sensations not produced by his own mind. Thankfully, the throbbing and temperature imbalance vacated his system almost immediately. Perhaps Erik was correct in some ways that Charles had been overexerting his mutation and the bodily reaction demonstrated here in its powerful force was the proof of his friend’s conviction. However, after saving the eggs from a disastrous fate in the pan and scooping them out onto a plate, Charles decided it would be best to assess his physical condition in the lavatory.

Despite all the sensations that would normally indicate a fever, all sense of discomfort or illness had left him. All symptoms of an apparent fever had to have been imagined by his mind, a thought slightly troubling in its own right. Remembering the eggs and coffee as well as his own cup of tea would go cold if left unattended for much longer, he bounded from the lavatory back into the kitchen, haphazardly fixing everything on a tray.

He was not certain what scene he had expected to return to before reentering the room—probably Erik would have been upright in bed, giving him one of those cherished pointed smiles or something of the kind. Instead, upon opening the door and stepping inside, Charles discovered Erik ungracefully half-falling out of their bed, intent on bringing the covers with him.

Charles rushed over, swiftly setting the tray down on the bedside table, and took hold of either side of Erik’s chest, heaving him back onto the mattress. His skin was warm, frightfully so, and this was the first time this morning Charles looked at Erik without a multitude of blankets obscuring his view. His friend’s face was flushed, his lips dry, and his eyes heavy with sleep and sickness. Pressing the back of his hand to Erik’s forehead, a touch which Erik leaned into, confirmed Charles’ diagnosis.

“Charles,” Erik rasped.

“There, there darling, don’t push yourself,” Charles soothed, brushing a bit of Erik’s auburn locks back. “I imagine you’re not feeling too well.”

Charles truthfully knew exactly how Erik was feeling, or at least the incident in the kitchen gave him a general idea. Erik must have unintentionally projected his symptoms telepathically, explaining why the sensations he experienced felt so real yet physically were not present.

The telepathic link between him and Erik had grown considerably over the months, with every cheated move in chess and every secret little conversation. In the weeks spent at the various dingy motels, Erik became more and more amenable to Charles’ voice inside his head, and Charles, grateful that someone wanted to engage in telepathic conversation, did not hesitate to let him in. How deep the bond ran, however, was a question Charles had never previously considered, and when the errant thought of _in sickness and in health_ fluttered in his head he quickly buried the fanciful notion.

Erik scoffed, although a cough stole whatever wry quality it might have held. “Yes, Charles, I suppose you could say that. I haven’t been this ill since—” Erik cut himself off, and Charles did not pursue the memory. “How do I fix this? I need to get on with the day already.”

It was Charles’ turn for cheek. “Fix this? Erik, with your temperature, you’re going to have to rest the entire day to feel better.”

Erik screwed up his face, clearly not an enthusiast of the idea. “Since when were you a doctor?”

“I am a doctor. I believe you were aware I received my diploma this past year at the University of Oxford,” he replied with a grin.

“In genetics. I do pay attention, Charles.”  Another cough violently wracked Erik’s body, and Charles gently lay his lover down on the pillows, a concerned frown donning his features he was sure. “McCoy is going to regret the day he ever suggested doing a trial run of Sean’s powers _in the damn rain_ ,” Erik groaned vehemently into the soft cushions.

“His name is Hank, Erik,” Charles playfully corrected. “And no one is going to give anyone else a reason to regret something. Testing Sean’s capabilities in inclement weather was a good idea in theory but perhaps not in practice. It was just as much Hank’s idea as it was mine.”

_Martyr_ flashed from Erik’s thoughts to Charles’, and he had to bite back a bitter laugh.

“Well, if that is the case, then you wouldn’t mind getting a cold towel for me,” Erik rather politely requested.

He beamed back, “Absolutely not, my friend.”

Charles spent the entire morning with Erik, only to leave him to tell the children that they could enjoy the day as they pleased, omitting loud and property-damaging parties. His friend did give initial protest, claiming that he needed to sort through the illness alone, but Charles still telepathically picked up on his true reasoning.

There was no force that could make him leave Erik’s side at this moment, none that either of them would allow.


End file.
